


to sleep beneath the river's weight

by CapriciousCrab



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Dreams and Nightmares, Dysfunctional Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Insomnia, POV Second Person, Sleep Deprivation, but they're working on it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:41:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28580673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CapriciousCrab/pseuds/CapriciousCrab
Summary: You sleep and then you dream.They don't belong to you, these nocturnal remembrances. As the God of Sleep, you dance through mortal dreams as if they were your own, sampling the lusciousness of life to be found there within. From the sweetness of the very young to the ripe fullness of those bent by old age, you love them all and savor their taste. You cherish the memories that are shared with you for they bring a measure of joy and happiness into your work.Until they become something to be feared. And you no longer wish to dream.
Comments: 14
Kudos: 53





	to sleep beneath the river's weight

**Author's Note:**

> Don't mind me, just dipping my toes into this fandom! Now I'm off to hide :)

You sleep and then you dream.

They don't belong to you, these nocturnal remembrances. As the God of Sleep, you dance through mortal dreams as if they were your own, sampling the lusciousness of life to be found there within. From the sweetness of the very young to the ripe fullness of those bent by old age, you love them all and savor their taste. You cherish the memories that are shared with you for they bring a measure of joy and happiness into your work.

Until they become something to be feared. And you no longer wish to dream.

*

_The heat of Asphodel is blistering-hot. The air shimmers before your eyes and a mixture of sweat and blood dew your skin. Your grip is loose against the hilt of Stygius, and you're tired; depleted and movements stiff as you push on and on and on. Clumsy with blood loss, you miscalculate your dash and overshoot and suddenly you're burning, melting, too overwhelmed with agony to move, mouth opened on a silent scream…_

  
  


You jerk awake with a muffled cry. "I'm up I'm up," you cry as you scramble to hold on to your list and quill. You wrench them close to your pounding heart and look into Zagreus' tired face.

"Sleeping on the job again, mate? Must be nice." Zagreus yawns and the skin beneath his eyes looks dark and bruised. "Just don't let my father catch you at it." 

Zagreus smiles but he's already looking past you for Thanatos or perhaps Achilles, eager to move on and away. He's gone before you can say much else and you sigh before getting back to your list. A shiver works its way up along your spine as you catch a whiff of charred flesh and recall once again the sensation of melting away in a pool of bubbling lava.

"Get back to work, Hypnos," Master Hades grumbles. 

You are reluctant to sleep again today.

*

_Stale, suffocating air. Endless darkness, darker even than Mother Nyx, surrounds you as you blink helpless tears from your eyes. Knees bent painfully and bound tightly by the weight of heavy chains that seem to shatter the very bones in your chest, you try desperately to escape the box you have been sealed away in. The souls of the dead call out to you and you try to call back, tearing at whatever skin you can reach, desperate… desperate…_

  
  


It's his voice that wakes you now, hissed sharply into your ear. "Hypnos! Brother, what are you doing?"

You open tear-soaked eyes. Familiar golden eyes stare back, and a frown is heavy upon his brow. Your head still swims with Thanatos' mournful cries and you find you cannot speak, your voice strangled beneath the lump in your throat. As consciousness seeps in you become aware of his hands gripping your wrists tightly, securing your arms to your sides. Ichor trickles from the great gashes you have carved into your skin, your fingertips stained with the proof of Thanatos' remembered fear and desperation. 

"Oh," you say weakly, breath still trapped within your lungs. 

Because you cannot think of anything else _to_ say. Eons ago you would have reached out for him, certain in the knowledge that he would reach back to offer the comfort that you seek. To offer him comfort in return. Now you are unsure, afraid of being cast aside. So you force an unsteady laugh and gently tug your wrists from beneath his hands.

"I'm fine, Thanatos. Just a pesky little nightmare, haha! You know, it must have just snuck right past me?"

Thanatos' face is grave as he stares back at you and you shrink beneath his regard. He hasn't truly looked at you in centuries, and you don't remember how to _be_ around your twin anymore. He opens his mouth to speak but becomes distracted by the sight of Zagreus rising from the Pool of Styx. 

He glances at you before rising from where he was crouched near your side. "We will speak of this later. Tend your wounds." And then he disappears, gone to wait elsewhere for Zagreus to join him.

You look down at your arms. The flesh is healed, no trace of the long furrows you had gouged into your skin. Nothing remains of the nightmare but ichor stained parchment and the sound of your breath echoing a touch too loudly in the hall.

There are shades waiting so you smile. "Welcome to the House of Hades!" you call out tremulously as you usher them in. You tend to your list and ignore the dread that is building within you. 

You grow afraid to sleep again.

*

You refuse to sleep.

The Fates laugh as they continue to weave whatever mischief they have in store for you. You cannot close your eyes without falling into a nightmare, dark and vicious and painfully personal. You share the most agonizing moments of those you know, dredging up their dark memories to relive again and again.

  
  


_Megaera stands silent, defenseless and alone. She longs for family and sheds bitter tears of vengeance as her sisters turn from her…_

_Mad with grief, Achilles weeps over the body of his lover. He rages against Hector and vows to hack his flesh from his body…_

_Theseus falls from the cliff, again and again, the sound of Lycomedes' laughter ringing in his ears as his body is dashed to pieces upon the rocks …_

  
  


You weep helplessly when you awaken. You vow that you will no longer sleep.

*

You concentrate on your work and your multitude of lists. You keep your head down and eyes lowered so that your fear is not visible. Lord Hades is pleased and Thanatos is proud but you are so tired. So weary. So very alone.

You _will not_ sleep.

The mortals grow restless. Insomnia plagues the land, and the humans beg the gods for sleep. But you turn a deaf ear because you _will not sleep_.

You wander the house in a daze, your head muddled and full of pain. Your eyes feel full of glass; the lids scrape and burn when you blink and try to focus on the parchment before you. The quill falls from your hand with a clatter, fingers gone slack with crushing fatigue as you stare blankly at the wall before you. You fade in and out of awareness but _you will not sleep!_

Mother Nyx comes to you in darkness, enshrouding you in muted starlight. She has not held you in an age but today she gathers you close and you feel safe and hidden within her arms.

"You do not sleep, my son," she says quietly. "There is chaos above, and you… you are unwell. Tell me, what is wrong?"

"I cannot sleep!" you murmur into her shoulder. "If I sleep, I dream. Such terrible dreams of pain and misery. Dreams that I cannot forget!" 

Your head droops against your will and when you try to force it up once more, heavy from the denied sleep of millions, you find it lays in Nyx's lap. Her hands are gentle in your hair as she strokes her fingers through the curls, tracing over the sleep mask nestled within them.

"I would assist you, Hypnos, if you would therefore allow me," she asks. She holds a minuscule vial up to the light, and your eyes focus on the liquid within. "From the river Lethe, to help you forget."

You nod assent and allow Nyx to tip the liquid into your mouth. The water from the Lethe is refreshing and crisp, and it flows across your tongue in a soothing wave. You swallow eagerly and sigh in relief as Nyx slides your sleep mask down with gentle hands, covering your burning eyes. There's a buzzing in your ears as you start to drift, lost in your own thoughts for a moment. You are so tired. So weary. But you are no longer alone. 

You allow yourself to sleep once more.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you've enjoyed it :)


End file.
